DURHAM, N.C., July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- bioMerieux recently conducted two
surveys, fielded during conferences of the American Thoracic Society and
Society of Hospital Medicine, that show how hospitalists, pulmonary and
critical care physicians, and researchers are unanimous in their view that
new methods and technologies are needed to quickly diagnose and combat
severe bacterial sepsis in U.S. hospitals.

Sepsis, a usually fatal medical condition generally caused by the
body's response to a severe infection of the blood and/or tissues, affects
between 5 and 10 percent of all hospital patients, leading to an increase
of about $5 billion in U.S. healthcare costs annually.

bioMerieux's 20-minute test to detect levels of procalcitonin (PCT) --
a telltale sign of systemic bacterial infection -- recently received 510(k)
clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to assess the risk of
progression to severe sepsis and septic shock. PCT tests have been used in
Europe for years. Nearly all survey respondents said such a test would
represent a "dramatic improvement" to the current methods of diagnosis and
care for sepsis and suspected sepsis.

Because symptoms of sepsis can be vague and overlap with other
diseases, there is no gold standard for diagnosis -- current methods of
detection are slow and inaccurate. Of the pulmonary and critical care
specialists surveyed, 69 percent viewed overlapping symptoms as the most
difficult aspect of diagnosing sepsis. In fact, most clinicians reported
starting empiric therapy -- prescribing an antibiotic treatment immediately
before an accurate and firm diagnosis is determined -- because the risk of
not treating suspected bacterial sepsis is too dangerous. However,
according to the surveys, nearly all participating hospitalists and
pulmonary and critical care specialists indicated that antibiotic
resistance stemming from antibiotic misuse is a primary concern as it may
have an increasing effect on the development of Superbugs.

"For decades, advancement of the diagnosis of sepsis has been limited,
as doctors continue to rely on clinical clues and symptoms," said Dr.
Charles B. Cairns, Professor & Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, UNC
School of Medicine. "Yet it has been shown that early treatment can be life
saving. Given the need for timely treatment, antibiotics are frequently
prescribed even before bacterial infection is confirmed. This could
increase the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.
Healthcare professionals need new tools, like PCT, to rapidly and
accurately diagnosis sepsis and severe infections in order to better tailor
the use of antibiotics."

Marking a significant shift in the care of sepsis patients, 73 percent
of hospitalists indicated that they now play the primary role in managing
patients with suspected sepsis, while 83 percent of pulmonary and critical
care specialists indicated the same. Of those surveyed, all were nearly
unanimous in their desire for a rapid test that would help confirm the
cause of suspected sepsis.

Of the hospitalists surveyed, the vast majority was unaware that
circulating PCT levels are very sensitive to the severity of bacterial
infection and closely track with the severity of that infection(1). PCT,
the prohormone of calcitonin, can be produced by numerous cell types and
organs after proinflammatory stimulation, especially when caused by
bacterial infection. This makes PCT an ideal indicator of systemic
bacterial infection and sepsis. When provided information about a new PCT
test from bioMerieux, over half of hospitalists said a 20-minute biomarker
test that could help with the diagnosis of a clinically relevant bacterial
infection and/or sepsis would make a dramatic improvement in patient care
and improve antibiotic stewardship.

About bioMerieux

Advancing Diagnostics to Improve Public Health

A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for 45 years,
bioMerieux is present in more than 150 countries through 38 subsidiaries
and a large network of distributors. In 2007, revenues reached euro 1.063
billion with 84 percent of sales outside of France.

bioMerieux provides diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments,
software), which determine the source of disease and contamination to
improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Our products are used
for diagnosing infectious diseases and providing high medical value results
for cardiovascular emergencies and cancer screening and monitoring. They
are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical,
and cosmetic products. bioMerieux is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris
market (Code: BIM - Code ISIN: FR0010096479). Other information can be
found at http://www.biomerieux.com or http://www.biomerieux-industry.com

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